Call: Improving
the performance of inefficient district heating networks

A challenge-based approach will bring together resources and knowledge across different
fields, technologies and disciplines, including social sciences and the humanities. This will cover activities from research
to market with a new focus on innovation-related activities, such as piloting, demonstration, test-beds, and support for public
procurement and market uptake.Funding focuses on the following challenges:

Health,
demographic change and wellbeing;

Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland
water research, and the Bioeconomy;

Secure, clean and efficient energy;

Smart, green and integrated transport;

Climate
action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials;

Europe in a changing world - inclusive, innovative and
reflective societies;

Secure societies - protecting freedom and security of Europe and its citizens.

This Sub-Programme is structured
around seven specific objectives and research areas:

Reducing energy consumption and carbon footprint

Low-cost,
low-carbon electricity supply

Alternative fuels and mobile energy sources

A single, smart European electricity
grid

New knowledge and technologies

Robust decision making and public engagement

Market uptake of
energy and ICT innovation.

Call

Improving the performance of inefficient district heating networks

Description of call"Improving the performance of inefficient district heating networks"

District
heating's share on heat supply in Europe is about 12%, with some Member States and Associated Countries having a much higher
share. In order to preserve existing heating networks and to increase their efficiency, successful approaches to diagnosing
and retrofitting inefficient networks, including sustainable business and organisational models, have to be widely promoted
and disseminated.

Activities supported under this topic should replicate or develop successful
technical, managerial, organisational and financial approaches and should lead to the initiation of concrete schemes that
guarantee substantial primary energy savings and efficiency gains, including the use of renewable and residual sources of
heat as appropriate. Proposals should engage and involve as necessary, those in charge of city networks, district heating
companies, managers of buildings blocks, housing associations and other building owners/managers and end consumers. Proposals
should also lead to the development of concrete regional or national action plans for the retrofitting of inefficient district
heating networks.

As necessary, actions should consider interventions that are needed on the building side, e.g.
retrofitting and / or modifications of internal heat distribution systems and system and end user controls. They should also
take into account the evolution of thermal demand in the future due to improving building energy performance standards and
increased rate of building renovations.

Taking into account the nature
of the activity and with the objective to maximize the European Added Value and European market uptake through transnational
collaboration, the following additional eligibility criteria apply: 1. at least three legal entities shall participate
in an action; 2. each of the three legal entities shall be established in a different Member State or Associated Country 3. all three legal entities shall be independent of each ot her within the meaning of Article 8 of the Rules for Participation.

Recurring Call

No

Type of Funding

Grant

Financial details

The Commission considers that proposals requesting
a contribution from the EU of between 1 and 2 million € would allow this challenge to be addressed appropriately. This
does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.